Multiple desk unit with combined frame and retaining rail



Feb. 28, 1961 F. s.

KNOLL 2,973,232

MULTIPLE DESK UNIT WITH COMBINED FRAME A'ND RETAINING RAIL Filed Jan.29, 1958 IJUHIHIHHHH.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. flan-W05 5. K/voLL Feb. 28, 1961 F. s. KNOLL2,973,232

MULTIPLE DESK UNIT WITH COMBINED FRAME AND RETAINING RAIL Filed Jan. 29,1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 62 23 2 T l' Z4 7 a/M w MULTIPLE DESK UNITWI'IHCOMBlNED AND RETAINING RAIL Florence S. Knoll, New York, N.Y.,assignor, by mesne assignments, to Knoll Associates, Inc., a corporationof New York Filed Jan. 2?, 1958, Ser. No. 711,896 4 Claims. (Cl. 311-4)This invention relates to desks and the like and particularly toL-shaped desks for use in business offices.

The ever-pressing space requirement of modern ofiices, coupled with theneed to afford each office worker an adequate amount of working andstorage space has made the L-shaped ofiice desk extremely popular anddesirable in business offices. This desk is characterized generally by amain desk havin a flat oblong top and a side desk of similarconfiguration located at a somewhat lower level than the top of the maindesk, with one of its ends received under one of the ends of the maindesk.

Supports are provided for the outer ends of the main and side desks(i.e. the ends remote from the common corner of the L-shapedconfiguration), and for the inner end of one of the desks (i.e. the endadjacent the common corner of the L-shaped configuration).

The side desk is usually employed to support a typewriter or ofiiceequipment of a like nature and may be provided with a retaining railwhich projects above the level of the side desk top adjacent the rearedge thereof and is effective to prevent such typewriter or likeequipment from sliding off the rear of the side desk plate during use orother handling.

The rear portions and outer ends of the main and side desks are usuallyprovided with decorative panel members which cover these portions. Thepanels are customarily connected directly to the frame, conformingclosely to the shape of the frame portion to which connection is made.

The L-shaped desk may also be provided with a storage box usually openor capable of being opened only at the front end and which is attachedto the main desk supports. This storage box, often mounted within asupporting pedestal, is positioned beneath the main desk plate adjacentthe outer end thereof. The rear wall of the box may be contiguous withthe rear panel of the main desk and serves as a decorative panel for aportion of the rear surface of the main desk. A similar storage box maybe provided the side desk at its remote end. The storage box may beadapted by the provision of shelves to store stationery or the like, orit may be employed to store a typewriter or similar equipment.

An object of the present invention is .to provide an improved L-shapeddesk.

Another object is to frame for such a desk.

Another object is to provide a supporting frame for an L-shaped desk inwhich the horizontal support for one end of the main desk serves also asthe rear retaining rail for the side desk top.

Another object is to provide a supporting frame for a desk of the typedescribed having vertical supports only at the remote and common cornersof the assembled desk, the horizontal frame members connecting thevertical supports extending uninterrupted and otherwise unsupportedbetween such supports.

Another object is to provide an improved desk of the type describedhaving an improved means for connecting provide an improved supporting 2g decorative panel members and desk plates to the support ing framemembers and to each other. Another object is to provide an improvedmeans for attaching a desk storage box to a supporting frame and Theforegoing and other objects of the invention are attained in thestructure defined herein by providing an L-shaped desk structureincluding a main desk having a flat plate and a side desk also having afiat plate but located at a somewhat lower level than the plate of themain desk so that one end of the side desk may be received under the endof the main desk. Supports are provided for the opposite ends of themain desk and for the outer end of the side desk. The inner end of theside desk is supported on the main'desk by connectors secured to theunder surface of the main desk and to the upper surface of the sidedesk.

The support provided the inner end of the main desk includes an A-framesubstantially wider than the width ofthe main desk plate, having a pairof vertical legs and upper and lower crossbars extending uninterruptedbetween the legs. The common corner of the main desk is attached to theupper surface of the upper crossbar in a conventional manner, while theside desk is maintained positioned level with and adjacent to the lowersurface of that crossbar. The connectors attaching the common corners ofthe main and side desk plates maintain the desks spaced apart a distanceequal to the vertical dimension of the upper crossbar. The portion ofthe upper crossbar not supporting the common corner of the main deskserves as a back rail for the side desk top and plied the H-frame. Theside desk end is supported by direct connection of one corner thereof tothe single vertical leg and by connection to panel members byright-angle brackets more fully described hereafter.

The frame members are of hollow material rectangular in cross section.The vertical frame members supporting the common end of the main deskand the outer end of the side desk and the upper horizontal crossbar areprovided with integrally formed panel attachment membars which projectlaterally from the vertical members and downwardly from the upperhorizontal member. Each attachment member is provided with an apertureadapted to threadedly receive a bolt and effective in cooperation withthe bolt to ailix a decorative panel member to the rear and remote endof the side desk. The lower horizontal frame member in the embodiment ofmy invention hereinafter described is not provided with integral panelattachment members.

Two right-angle irons are also provided in the embodiment of myinvention described herein. One extends substantially the length of theside desk top, having one face thereof connected to said top and oneface thereof connected to a rear panel on the side desk. The second ironextends substantially the width of the side desk top, having one facethereof connected to said top and one face thereof connected to an endpanel of the side desk. These irons aiford additional support for theside desk top.

The main desk may also be provided a storage box at the outer endthereof supported upon a horizontal stretcher connecting intermediatepoints along the lower crossbars of the ifs-frames supporting oppositeends of the main desk top. The storage box is further supported byconnection to the rear panel member of the main desk bymeans of astorage box connector having a pair of oppositely directed counter sunkapertures. Each aperture is adapted to receive a bolt or screw. Theconnector is of a width substantially greater than the thickness of themain desk panel. The panel is attached to the vertical leg of theA-frame supporting the common corner of the main desk by means of aright-angle bracket. The storage box is mounted after the panel is inplace. The connector is then affixed to the remote end face of the panelby the insertion of a threaded bolt or screw through the appropriatecountersunk aperture and into the panel. The storage box is then placedon the support means, having the front face thereof contiguous with thefront face of the panel and the front portion of its inner side faceabutting the connector. A second threaded bolt or screw is then insertedthrough the second countersunk hole and into the side of the storagebox, thereby securely supporting said storage box to said frame andassuring at the front face of both panel and storage box a firm andattractive continuous panel.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent froma consideration of the following description and claims taken togetherwith the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the desk of the present inventionshowing the side panel;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the desk of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the desk of Fig. 2 with portions of the mainand side desks broken away to show the storage box, portions of the sidedesk plate, and frame members supporting both the main and the sidedesks;

' Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3showing the connection of the side desk plate to the side panel and theconnection of the side panel to the upper horizontal frame member;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line V--V of Fig. 2showing the connection of the side desk plate to the outer end panel ofthe side desk;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view taken from above, showing the frame of thedesk of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation view of the connector of the presentinvention; and

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line VIII-NIH of Fig. 7.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 1 generally indicates anL-shaped desk made according to the present invention and including mainand side desks generally indicated, respectively, by numerals 2 and 3.The main desk comprises a fiat top plate 4 supported on a frameworkincluding a first A-frame 5 (see Fig. 6) at its outer end and a secondA-frame 6 at its inner end. Each A-frame comprises two vertical legs 5aand 5b and 6a and 6b, respectively. Top crossbars 5c and 6c are providedeach A-frame as well as intermediate crossbars 5d and 6d which connectintermediate points on the respective vertical legs. A longitudinalframe member or stretcher 7 connects intermediate localities on theintermediate crossbars 5d and 6d, providing additional support.

It will be noted that A-frame 5 supporting the outer end of the maindesk is somewhat narrower than the width of the main desk platesupported by it, whereas A-frame 6, supporting the inner end of the maindesk plate is substantially greater in width than that plate. Indeed,frame 6 extends a distance equal to the width of the main desk plateplus the length of the side desk plate extending from the front edge ofthe main desk to the outer edge of the side desk. The frame membersac-vegan are preferably made of a hollow material of rectangular crosssection as shown, for example at be in the'crosssectional view of Fig.4.

A storage box 9 is attached (by any suitable conventional means, notshown) to the A-frame 5 and member 7 beneath the outer end of the maindesk plate 4. The box may contain drawers for the storage of stationeryor it may be utilized as a storage space for a typewriter or otheroffice machinery.

The side desk 3 comprises a top plate 10 supported at its outer end by asupporting member 11 constructed in the shape of an H and best seen inFig. 6. This support is formed of a pair of vertical legs 11a and 6a anda cross piece 11b connecting intermediate localities near the lower endof the vertical legs. it will be noted that the rear vertical leg forthe A-frame supporting the inner end of the main desk plate and the rearleg for the H- frame member supporting the outer end of the side deskplate are identical, i.e., leg 6a. The supporting member for the outerend of the side desk is also made of hollow material having arectangular cross section. The top plate 10 may be provided with astorage box at its outer end similar to the one provided for the outerend of the main desk. However in the preferred form of my invention nobox is attached, the outer end of the side desk being provided with apanel member.

The inner end of the top plate 10 projects under plate 4. Connectors 12are provided which support this end from the inner end of the main deskplate 4. Connector 12 may be of any suitable conventional form.

The vertical members of frame 11 and the vertical and upper cross barmembers of frame 6 are provided at spaced localities with lugs 13 weldedintegrally thereto having apertures 13a formed therein and adapted, incooperation with conventional screws, to connect side desk rear and endpanel members to the frames. The brackets project laterally from theinner surface of the vertical members and downwardly from the inward surface of the horizontal member. In addition, apertures 14 are provided onthe upper surface of upper horizontal members 5c and 6c and are adaptedto receive bolts (not shown) by means of which opposite ends of the mainplate 4- are securely fastened from below to the horizontal members 50and 6c. While the lugs may be of any conventional shape, I have foundthat steel lugs rectangular in configuration having sides approximatelyone inch in length and of approximately A; inch in thickness provide astrong and secure connecting means. One edge of each rectangular lug isattached as by welding to a vertical or horizontal member as describedabove so that the inner face of the lug is contiguous with the innerface of the member to which it is welded or otherwise attached, as bestseen in Fig. 6. Rear and end panels 15 and 16 are provided the rear andend portions of the side desk. Panel 15 is affixed to the A-frame 6 bymeans of screws inserted through the apertures 13a in lugs 13 and thenthrough the rear surface of the panel itself.

Panel 15 is formed having dimensions smaller than the inside dimensionof the rectangle formed by the horizontal and connecting verticalmembers of frame 6. When connected as above described, each horizontaland vertical side of panel 15 is positioned spaced inwardly from thecorresponding side of the frame, as best seen in Fig. 1. The provisionthat panel members have dimensions smaller than the inside dimensions ofthe supporting frame is of importance, for it permits of considerabletolerance in the manufacture of the panel and frame members. Heretoforeit was necessary to construct decorative panels with dimensionssubstantially identical with the dimensions of the supporting frame.Anything less than substantial identity made assembly impossible withattendant loss of time, materials and labor.

A right-angle bracket 17 is provided the side desk adjacent the upperedgeof the panel 15 having its verticalleg secured to the upper edge ofthe panel and its horizontal leg secured to the under surface of sideplate 10. The angle bracket extends the entire length of the plate inthe preferred embodiment of my invention and is provided at spacedlocalities along each of its legs with apertures adapted to receivescrews 18. These screws securely fasten the vertical leg of the anglebracket to panel and the horizontal leg to plate 10, as best shown inFigs. 4 and 5.

Panel 16 is provided the H-frame support member at the outer end of theside desk and is attached in much the same fashion as panel 15 describedabove, with the exception, however, that plate 10 supports at leastpartially the upper edge of the end panel member rather than a topcrossbar as was the case in supporting the rear panel. While theconnection of the H-frame panel to the vertical members is the same asthe connection of the side panel to its vertical supports, i.e. by meansof screws inserted through apertures 13a and into the panel, the upperedge connection to the plate 10 is not made by means of such bracketsbut rather by right-angle bracket 19. When the panel 16 for the H-framemember is in position, i.e. connected to lugs 13 by means of screws, thevertical leg of angle bracket 19 is connected to the upper end of theinner surface of the panel 16 by the insertion of screws 20 throughapertures 21, and the horizontal leg is connected to the under surfaceof the side plate.

Side plate 10 is firmly supported to the L-shaped desk unit at its innerend by means of the connectors 12 previously described. The entire rearlongitudinal edge of the plate is supported by connection to thehorizontal leg member of angle bracket 17 which in turn is supported byconnection of its vertical legs to panel 15 as stated. The outer end ofthe plate 10 rests on the upper end of the vertical leg 11a. However,the entire outer edge receives additional support by connection with thehorizontal leg member of angle bracket 19 whose vertical leg aspreviously described is securely connected by means of suitable screwsto rear panel member 16.

Since the depth of connectors 12 is equal to the depth of horizontalframe member 60, the upper surface of plate 10 is on the samelongitudinal plane as the under surface of the frame member. Thus theframe member 60 supports the inner end of the main desk plate 4 and alsoacts as a retaining rail for the side plate 10. It will be noted that inorder that the side plate be parallel to the main plate, vertical leg12a must be shorter than each of the other vertical members by a lengthequal to the thickness of the side plate.

Main desk panel 22 is provided to cover the rear of the main desk. Thispanel is attached on its side adjacent the inner desk corner to verticalmember 6b by means of a third angle bracket 23 (Fig. 3) having one ofits legs connected to the inner surface of the support member and theother leg to the inner surface of the panel. The corner of the anglemember and the rear inner corner of the frame member are positionedadjacent one another so that the main desk panel member 22 projectsrearwardly of the vertical support member a distance equal to its depth.The end of the panel 22 adjacent the outer corner is supported on thedesk by attachment to the rear edge of the side surface of the storagebox 9. This attachment is made by means of a metal connector 24 which isprovided with two oppositely directed, countersunk, threaded apertures24a and 24b. The connector may be of any suitable shape and constructedof any strong material, preferably metal. It must, however, extendhorizontally for a distance substantially greater than the thickness ofpanel 22 as will be more apparent from reading the followingdescription. The connector of the present invention is rectangular inconfiguration and has a length substantially greater than the thicknessof the main desk panel. It may be constructed of steel approximatelyinch in thickness. The storage box and main panel are connected in thefollowing manner: Connector 24 is placed adjacent the remote end ofpanel 22 with the rear edge thereof parallel to but spaced slightlyforwardly of the rear panel face. It is positioned so that theappropriate countersunk hole, necessary for the attachment of theconnector to the end by means of a threaded screw, overlies that end ofthe panel andv so the oppositely directed countersunk aperture ispositioned forwardly of the forward face of the panel. The rear edge ofthe connector is positioned forward of the rear face of the panel sothat when connection of panel and storage box is made, the connectoritself is substantially unobservable. It is for this reason also thatthe connector is substantially thin. A threaded screw (not shown) isinserted through the appropriately directed and more rearwardlypositioned aperture and into the panel end, thereby securely aflixingthe connector to the panel. The box 9 is now placed upon horizontalstretcher 7 and suitably attached (by any conventional means, not shown)to A-frame 5 in such a manner that its inner face abuts the panel endand its rear face lies contiguously with the rear face of the panel. Asecond threaded screw (not shown) is inserted through the more forwardlypositioned, appropriately directed, countersunk aperture and into theside panel of the storage box, assuring a firm and secure connectionbetween panel and storage box. A single connector as thus described maybe employed if it be of a sufiicient height to support the respectiveweights of panel and storage box, and if it be provided with a pluralityof apertures. In the preferred embodiment of my invention, however, twoconnectors as above described are employed and are attached to panel andstorage box adjacent the upper and lower surfaces thereof.

While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of myinvention, other modifications thereof will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art, and I therefore intend my invention to be limitedonly by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A desk structure comprising a main desk including an oblong top, aside desk including an oblong top, means supporting said tops in anL-shaped configuration with the end of said side desk top which isadjacent the corner of the L received under the main desk top in spacedrelation thereto, said side desk top projecting substantially at rightangles to said main desk top, said supporting means including a framesupporting the corner end of said main desk top and supporting said sidedesk top, said frame including leg means and an upper horizontalrectilinear support bar supported on said leg means, said bar extendingat right angles to the length of said main desk top and having a portionof the rectilinear length thereof supporting said main desk top at theunder side thereof and having another portion of said rectilinear lengththereof disposed adjacent and above the upper side of said side desk topand extending along the length of said side desk top, said bar therebybeing effective in cooperation with said leg means to provide saidsupport for said corner end of said main desk top and simultaneously toserve as a retaining rail for said side desk top.

2. A desk structure as defined in claim 1 in which said leg meansincludes first and second legs supporting respectively opposite ends ofsaid bar, said bar being attached only at said ends to said legsadjacent upper portions thereof.

3. A desk structure as defined in claim 2 in which said means includes alower horizontal support bar parallel to said upper bar, said lower barbeing attached only at its ends to intermediate localities on said legs.

4. A desk structure comprising a main desk including an oblong top, aside desk including an oblong top, means supporting said tops in anL-shaped configuration with the end of said side desk top which isadjacent the corner of the L received under the main desk top in spacedrelation thereto, said side desk top projecting substantially at rightangles to said main desk top, said supporting means including a.framesupporting the corner end of saidr'nain desk top and supportingsaid side desk top, saidiranieincludihg vertically disposed legs spaeedapart in the direction along the length of said side desk top, ahorizontal rectilinear bar spanning between and supported by said legsand having .arportion of the rectilinear length thereof disposed at theunder side of and supporting said main desk top, said bar having anotherportion of said rectilinear length thereof disposed adjacent and abovetheupperside of said side desk top and extending along the length of theside desk top, a lower bar connected to and spanning between said legs,a third leg disposed adjacent the end of said side desk opposite to theend thereof which is received under said main desk top, a horizontal barconnected to and spanning between said thirdle g and said frame, saidopposite end of said side desk top being connected to said third leg andto said frameso as to he supported thereby, said,top supporting meansincluding a structure for supporting the end o'f said main desk topopposite to said corner'end thereof, and a horizontal bar ,connectingsaid end supporting structure to said frame.

References -Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,485,449 33101111 Mar. 4, 19% 2,708,292 Budai May 17, 1955 2,757,996Kozelka Aug. 7, 1956 2,793,926 Deaton May 28,1957 2,821,450 Knoll Jan.23, 1958 2,823,970 Sarmiento e Feb. 18, 19 58 FOREIGN PATENTS 4 75,5 10Italy Nov. 3, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATION OFCORRECTION February 28 1961 Patent No, 2 973 232 Florence S. Knoll errorappears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certified'that t thesaid Letters Patent should read as ent requiring correction and thacorrected below.

Column 6, line 65 after "said". insert support line 66, strike out"support".

Signed and sealed this 8th day of August 1961.

SEAL l ttestz ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Off c rCommissioner of Patents

